India has rejected a Court of Arbitration ruling that issued a "supplemental award" on its competence concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir. The dams are being built on the Indus river system, and the development came after India had paused the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack in April.
Calling the move a "charade at Pakistan's behest," India called the ruling another desperate attempt by Pakistan to escape accountability for its role as the global epicentre of terrorism.
A statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India never recognised the existence in law of the so-called Court of Arbitration and that the body is in itself a violation of the Indus Waters Treaty, a key water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan, which was brokered by the World Bank and consequently any proceedings before this forum and any award or decision taken by it are also for that reason illegal and per se void.
"Today, the illegal Court of Arbitration, purportedly constituted under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, albeit in brazen violation of it, has issued what it characterises as a 'supplemental award' on its competence concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," it said.
"Following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India has in exercise of its rights as a sovereign nation under international law, placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. Until such time that the treaty is in abeyance, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the treaty," the MEA statement said.
"No Court of Arbitration, much less this illegally constituted arbitral body which has no existence in the eye of law, has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of India's actions in the exercise of its rights as a sovereign," it added.
"India, therefore, categorically rejects this so-called supplemental award as it has rejected all prior pronouncements of this body. The move was a "latest charade" at Pakistan's behest and stressed it was a desperate attempt by Islamabad to escape accountability for its role as the global epicentre of terrorism. Pakistan's resort to this fabricated arbitration mechanism is consistent with its decades-long pattern of deception and manipulation of international forums," the statement read.
Pakistan has objected to India's construction of the 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric project on the Jhelum river and the 850 MW Ratle dam project on the Chenab river due to concerns about water flow and potential impacts on its own water resources.
These concerns stem from the fact that both projects are located on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers, which flow into Pakistan. Islamabad claims that the hydro projects are in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty. It also fears that the dams will reduce the amount of water available downstream, impacting its irrigated agriculture, which relies heavily on these rivers.
However, India has maintained that the dam projects do not violate the Indus Water Treaty. As per the agreement, India is permitted to build hydroelectric power projects on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. However, Pakistan has been trying to stop the construction of the Kishenganga and Ratle hydro projects.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960, the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) were primarily allocated to India's use, while Pakistan got rights to use the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab).